


An Ode to Moving On

by ofhosies (sharonsnatalia)



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Break Up, F/F, Healing, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21542629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharonsnatalia/pseuds/ofhosies
Summary: After remembering Hope, Josie learns to heal.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 16
Kudos: 225





	An Ode to Moving On

The memories came back.

The smile of a beautiful girl. Her biting wit. Being saved by her too many times to count. The years they spent on the cusp of hatred and love. The sacrifice she made for them all. 

For a moment, longer than that if Josie cared to be honest, she was overcome with hatred.

For herself. For the jealousy and the hatred that rose within her at the sight of Hope and Landon together, for the way they still rose now at the thought of them. For the fluttering feeling in her stomach when she thought of Hope and her all encompassing beauty.

For Hope, even though it had been since she truly hated the other girl, if she even ever did. Hope who sacrificed her life for them all, who sacrificed her love for Josie’s own, who left Josie with a jumble of love and hate and jealousy and admiration in the pit of her stomach.

Nausea settled within in Josie long after the other effects of the dark magic wore off. Too many days were spent in bed as a feeling, inky and suffocating, claimed her. 

A knock on the door, light but firm, pulled her from her thoughts. “It’s Hope.” There it was, that voice she loved and hated and hated, a voice as soft as it was comendeering. 

She pushed herself up onto her elbows, stared at the door for a moment before she spoke, “I’m not really feeling up to guests at the moment.”

It was the truth but mostly she didn’t want to see Hope, to feel the tug of  _ something  _ in her chest war with the guilt that coated her lungs. 

Hope’s quiet resignation was nearly audible as she hovered outside the door, her shadow under the frame the only sign that she was still there. 

“I’m sorry, Jo. I didn’t mean to ruin things for you.” With that, there were near silent footsteps leading her away from the room.

Josie wanted to sleep, to have oblivion claim the echo of guilt and heartbreak that Hope’s words, her useless and unnecessary apology, brought closer and closer to the front of her mind. 

Josie wanted to scream, to curse the name of the girl she loved and hated and hated, who loved the boy she loved, who loved her enough to leave Josie’s happiness at the cost of her displeasure.

Josie wanted to sob, to let out the feelings of anguish gathered by two heartbreaks until her head ached as much as her heart.

Eventually, she was comforted by the warmth of her blankets, her very own armor, and pulled in the welcome nothingness of sleep.

The door opened, a flurry of blonde hair and annoyance and too much energy entering the room not too long after. 

Still, Josie laid curled in bed, her eyes squeezed shut in a futile hope it would dissuade Lizzie from saying whatever it was she wanted to say. 

“I can’t believe you are still moping.” The eyeroll was evident in Lizzie’s words.

She moved closer to bed, the movement announced by the click of her heels. “And seriously, pretending to be asleep? What are we? Twelve?”

Lizzie meant well. Josie knew that but she wanted nothing more than to be left alone to wallow in peace. Still, she opened her eyes and met Lizzie’s gaze as best she could from her position. 

“The loser hasn’t even dumped you yet.” Another eye roll punctuated her words. “Not that dumping you for Hope wouldn’t be the biggest mistake he’s ever made and he chose that haircut.”

Josie sat up, her blankets pooling around her waste. “It’s not that simple.” Not that wanted to get into the way her feelings for Hope rivaled those for Landon. “I know it’s going to happen at some point. Those two are destined to be together.”

Lizzie sat down beside her on the edge of the bed. “All the more reason to take the initiative and end things with him first and start getting over his Ewok-loving ass already.”

Josie was still, in almost every way, a mess but at least she was out of bed now.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” She said it as kindly as she could, her words taking on a bittersweet affectation. “After everything with Malivore…” After everything with Hope, “I don’t think we can really last.”

She felt cruel finally admitting the words out loud. They had echoed in her mind for hours after she made her decision. She believed them, she wouldn’t say it otherwise, but to admit that the spark between, one that had been fostered when both were so alone and needed someone, was so easily smothered felt needless cruel. 

Landon took it as well as could be expected. He swallowed and looked at her. Sadness was clear in the swirls of his brown eyes. “If that’s what you want, Josie.”

As soon as she could, Josie called Penelope. 

“Hey, babe. How are you?” Even tired and an ocean away, her voice sounded angelic, like exactly was Josie needed right now.

Penelope, despite all the terrible history between them, felt very much like a comfort. Maybe she always would be. Maybe Josie would never truly move on from the first girl she ever loved. 

She was crying before she realized what was happening. “I dated Landon.” It doesn’t feel like a betrayal to admit it. It would’ve once only a few months ago. “I think I love him.”

There was a beat of silence on the other end of the call before Penelope spoke up again. “What happened, Jojo? Do I need to come back and beat his ass?”

A laugh, jumbled up in her sobs, escaped Josie. “No, nothing like that.” She took a deep breath, willing her tears to stop, they didn’t, before she spoke again, “I have everyone their memories of Hope again, and I knew he was going to leave me for her so I dumped him before he had the chance.” 

It sounded so dramatic when she laid it out that way. “I’m probably being selfish and silly… They were in love before…” She laughed a shaky laugh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-”

“You are allowed to be hurt. You don’t have to apologize for how you feel.”

Josie kept crying. 

Hope and Landon didn’t get back together. In fact, Hope remained as distant as she had when no one had remembered, only coming around when a monster needed to be killed. 

Even after everyone got their memories back, Hope remained at Mystic Falls High. Josie knew she talked to Lizzie and MG still but no one else at the school it seemed. Despite it all, Josie wanted to see her again, to see the beauty of her smile, to hear the beauty of her laugh. 

It took weeks for her to finally ask Lizzie for Hope’s number. It took a few days after that for her to work up the courage to use it.

**1:36 PM; UNSENT**

I miss you

**1:37 PM; SENT TO HOPE**

School is kinda boring without you

**1:37 PM; UNSENT**

I miss you. Please come back

Her heart did not fall when she didn’t get a reply. Guilt did not wash over her once again. 

Hope refused to meet her eyes. It had been almost two months since everyone got their memories back, and still, Hope looked the other when Josie entered the gym and took her place in the group as they talked about how to take down the monster of the week. 

Josie tried not to think about it, tried not to blame herself for ruining Hope’s chance at happiness with Landon. She did anyway.

It was later, when green slime coated them both, when Hope finally spoke up. “I’m so sorry, Josie.” 

Josie knew what she was apologizing for. She didn’t know why.

“I’m sorry too.” And with that, she wrapped her arms around Hope and cried. 

Hope cried too as she clung to Josie. 

**11:57 PM; SENT TO HOPE**

Ugh I wish these monsters knew that I have homework to do

**12:01 AM; RECEIVED FROM HOPE**

stop texting me

**12:01 AM; RECEIVED FROM HOPE**

do your work

**12:01 AM; SENT TO HOPE**

But what if I like texting you?????????

**12:01 AM; SENT TO HOPE**

It’s sooooo much more fun than doing my work

**12:02 AM; RECEIVED FROM LIZZIE**

STOP flirting with Hope and turn your fucking light off.

Lizzie whispered something in Hope’s ear and red blossomed across Hope’s cheeks and nose. For her part, Lizzie looked far too pleased with herself as she took in Hope’s frazzled state. 

Josie watched the interaction for a moment before she stepped in. “Lizzie, we don’t need you scarring Hope now.” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, yeah, scarring her, that’s what I’m doing, not pushing her to admit her stupid feelings for-” Hope’s hand was on Lizzie’s mouth before she could finish speaking.

A few seconds passed like that, Hope’s face tomato red and her hand covering Lizzie’s mouth before Hope exclaimed. “Ow! Did you fucking bite me?” and dropped her hand.

“I hate you.” With that, Lizzie left, looking just as pleased with herself as she moments earlier.

That explained things. Melancholy wrapped around Josie’s heart. She wanted to be happy for twin and for her friend, wanted to support whatever was blooming between but bitterness seeped into her thoughts. 

“So, you and Lizzie huh?” She hoped her voice didn’t sound too off. 

Hope laughed in her face.

“Lizzie and I are just friends.” She said when her laughs finally stopped.

“Really because it didn’t seem that way to me?”

“We’ve been getting closer since…”

Malivore. 

“Oh.”

Lizzie was mad at her for some reason. “Why don’t either of you have brain cells?” Her eyes were narrowed into a glare focused on Josie. “I can honestly only do so much if the two of you continue stare into each other’s eyes instead of talking about your very clear and very obvious love.”

“What are you even talking about, Liz?” Josie really just wanted to collapse into bed and sleep through the next monster attack.

“You and Hope!” Lizzie said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I even gave that useless tribrid my blessing but no! You guys have to be so clueless about everything!”

Josie blushed. “Hope doesn’t like me.”

“And the sky isn’t blue.”

“She doesn’t!” Josie said. “If anything, she likes you!”

Lizzie laughed in her face.

Why did people keep doing that?

Malivore had just been defeated. Barely contained excitement hummed in the air around them. Hope was still by her side. In fact, Hope was pulled tightly against her chest. Josie couldn’t let her go. Fear still pulsed through her veins. She could still lose her.

“Do you want to go out?”

The words shocked Josie, pulled her back to the moment, to the victory.

“Yes, I’d love that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my twitter @stardustedreads.
> 
> Comment & leave kudos if you are a real gay ally


End file.
